U.S. patent application number 12/985686 was filed with the patent office on 2012-04-05 for method and system for dynamic traffic steering.
This patent application is currently assigned to OPENWAVE SYSTEMS INC.. Invention is credited to Mark Delany, Shaun McGinnity, Patrick McGleenon, Ramkumar Venkataramani, Stephen Wright.
Application Number | 20120084460 12/985686 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 45890790 |
Filed Date | 2012-04-05 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120084460 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
McGinnity; Shaun ; et
al. |
April 5, 2012 |
METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DYNAMIC TRAFFIC STEERING
Abstract
A method and system for dynamic traffic steering is described.
In one embodiment, a method for dynamic traffic steering involves
receiving a request for content at a steering component, comparing
information in the request with steering criteria in the steering
component, steering the request based on the comparing, and
continuously updating the steering criteria based on requests that
are subsequently received at the steering component. Other
embodiments are also described.
Inventors: |
McGinnity; Shaun; (Belfast,
IE) ; Wright; Stephen; (Belfast, IE) ;
McGleenon; Patrick; (Belfast, IE) ; Venkataramani;
Ramkumar; (Sunnyvale, CA) ; Delany; Mark;
(Redwood City, CA) |
Assignee: |
OPENWAVE SYSTEMS INC.
Redwood City
CA
|
Family ID: |
45890790 |
Appl. No.: |
12/985686 |
Filed: |
January 6, 2011 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61389702 |
Oct 4, 2010 |
|
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
709/242 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04L 67/327 20130101;
H04L 67/2819 20130101; H04L 67/322 20130101; H04L 45/306
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
709/242 |
International
Class: |
G06F 15/16 20060101
G06F015/16 |
Claims
1. A method for dynamic traffic steering, the method comprising:
receiving a request for content at a steering component; comparing
information in the request with steering criteria in the steering
component; steering the request based on the comparing; and
continuously updating the steering criteria based on requests that
are subsequently received at the steering component.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein comparing the information in the
request with the steering criteria in the steering component
comprises comparing network layer information, transport layer
information, session layer information, presentation layer
information, and/or application layer information in the request
with the steering criteria in the steering component.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein comparing network layer
information, transport layer information, session layer
information, presentation layer information, and/or application
layer information in the request with the steering criteria in the
steering component comprises comparing the network layer
information in the request with the steering criteria in the
steering component.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein the steering criteria in the
steering component contains information with respect to a
destination of at least one request for content.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein comparing the network layer
information of the request with the steering criteria in the
steering component comprises comparing a destination Internet
Protocol (IP) address of the request with a list of IP
addresses.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein steering the request comprises
sending the request for content to a discovery proxy if the
destination IP address of the request is not on the list of IP
addresses, wherein the method further comprises: transmitting the
request for content from the discovery proxy to a content server
that is identified by the request; receiving a response to the
request from the content server at the discovery proxy; scanning
the response at the discovery proxy to determine whether or not the
response contains video content; and updating the steering criteria
in response to the determination that is made by the discovery
proxy.
7. The method of claim 5, wherein steering the request comprises
sending the request to an optimization platform if the destination
IP address of the request is on the list of IP addresses, wherein
the method further comprises: transmitting the request from the
optimization platform to a video content server that is identified
in the request; receiving a response to the request from the video
content server at the optimization platform; and optimizing the
response for delivery at the optimization platform.
8. The method of claim 5, wherein comparing the network layer
information in the request with the steering criteria in the
steering component further comprises comparing the destination IP
address of the request with a second list of IP addresses if the
destination IP address of the request is not on the list of IP
addresses, wherein steering the request comprises transmitting the
request for content through a bypass route to a content server that
is identified by the request if the destination IP address of the
request is on the second list of IP addresses, and the method
further comprises receiving a response to the request from the
video content server through the bypass route, wherein the bypass
route does not include an optimization platform for content
delivery optimization.
9. The method of claim 5, wherein continuously updating the
steering criteria comprises updating the list of IP addresses based
on the requests that are subsequently received at the steering
component.
10. The method of claim 8, wherein continuously updating the
steering criteria comprises updating the list of IP addresses and
the second list of IP addresses based on the requests that are
subsequently received at the steering component.
11. A traffic controller for dynamic traffic steering, the traffic
controller comprising: a steering component configured to maintain
steering criteria for steering requests for content; an
optimization platform configured to optimize delivery of content
requested by at least one of the requests for content; and a
discovery proxy configured to perform a content discovery process
to update the steering criteria.
12. The traffic controller of claim 11, wherein the discovery proxy
is further configured to determine whether or not content provided
as a response includes content of interest in the content discovery
process.
13. The traffic controller of claim 11, wherein the steering
criteria are continuously updated based on the requests that are
received at the steering component.
14. The traffic controller of claim 11, wherein the steering
component is further configured to compare information in a request
with the steering criteria and to steer the request to the
optimization platform, to a bypass route that does not include the
optimization platform, or to the discovery proxy based on the
comparison.
15. The traffic controller of claim 14, wherein the steering
criteria comprises network layer information, transport layer
information, session layer information, presentation layer
information, and/or application layer information.
16. The traffic controller of claim 15, wherein the steering
criteria comprises network layer information.
17. The traffic controller of claim 16, wherein the steering
component is further configured to compare a destination Internet
Protocol (IP) address of one of the requests for content with a
list of IP addresses.
18. The traffic controller of claim 17, wherein the steering
component is further configured to send the request to the
discovery proxy if the destination IP address of the request is not
on the list of IP addresses, and wherein the discovery proxy is
further configured: to transmit the request to a content server
that is identified in the request; to receive a response to the
request from the content server; to scan the response to determine
whether or not the response contains video content; and to update
the steering criteria in response to the determination.
19. The traffic controller of claim 17, wherein the steering
component is further configured to send the request to the
optimization platform if the destination IP address of the request
is on the list of IP addresses, and wherein the optimization
platform is further configured: to transmit the request to a video
content server that is identified in the request; to receive a
response to the request from the video content server; and to
optimize the response for delivery.
20. A method for dynamic traffic steering, the method comprising:
receiving a request for content at a steering component; comparing
a destination Internet Protocol (IP) address of the request with a
list of IP addresses; if the destination IP address of the request
is on the list of IP addresses, sending the request to an
optimization platform, transmitting the request from the
optimization platform to a content server that is identified in the
request, receiving a response to the request from the content
server at the optimization platform, and optimizing the response
for delivery at the optimization platform; if the destination IP
address of the request is not on the list of IP addresses, sending
the request to a discovery proxy, transmitting the request for
content from the discovery proxy to the content server that is
identified by the request, receiving the response to a request from
the content server at the discovery proxy, scanning the response at
the discovery proxy to determine whether or not the response
contains video content, and updating the steering criteria in
response to the determination that is made by the discovery proxy;
and continuously updating the steering criteria based on requests
that are subsequently received at the steering component.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is entitled to the benefit of provisional
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 61/389,702, filed Oct. 4,
2010.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Advances in Internet and wireless technologies have
triggered an exponential upsurge in the amount of content that is
accessible by wireless devices. Different content types, such as
video, audio, and webpages, pose different demands for quality of
service (QOS). In order to improve QOS, traffic can be steered to
certain delivery optimization resources. Typically, traffic is
steered to optimization resources according to a static set of
steering rules. For example, a static set of Uniform Resource
Locators (URLs) is used to steer HTTP requests for video content.
However, the landscape of Internet delivered video changes rapidly,
with hot websites and videos appearing and disappearing relatively
quickly. Therefore, a static set of steering rules can become
out-of-date in a short duration of time. When a static set of
steering rules becomes out-of-date, some video data may be
delivered to wireless devices without the benefit of the
optimization resources that are available to improve QOS.
SUMMARY
[0003] Embodiments of a method are described. In one embodiment, a
method for dynamic traffic steering is described. The method for
dynamic traffic steering involves receiving a request for content
at a steering component, comparing information in the request with
steering criteria in the steering component, steering the request
based on the comparing, and continuously updating the steering
criteria based on requests that are subsequently received at the
steering component. In another embodiment, a method for dynamic
traffic steering is described. The method for dynamic traffic
steering involves receiving a request for content at a steering
component, comparing a destination Internet Protocol (IP) address
of the request with a list of IP addresses, if the destination IP
address of the request is on the list of IP addresses, sending the
request to an optimization platform, transmitting the request from
the optimization platform to a content server that is identified in
the request, receiving a response to the request from the content
server at the optimization platform, and optimizing the response
for delivery at the optimization platform, if the destination IP
address of the request is not on the list of IP addresses, sending
the request to a discovery proxy, transmitting the request for
content from the discovery proxy to the content server that is
identified by the request, receiving the response to a request from
the content server at the discovery proxy, scanning the response at
the discovery proxy to determine whether or not the response
contains video content, and updating the steering criteria in
response to the determination that is made by the discovery proxy,
and continuously updating the steering criteria based on requests
that are subsequently received at the steering component. Other
embodiments of a method are also described.
[0004] Embodiments of a traffic controller for dynamic traffic
steering are also described. In one embodiment, a traffic
controller for dynamic traffic steering includes a steering
component configured to maintain steering criteria for steering
requests for content, an optimization platform configured to
optimize delivery of content requested by at least one of the
requests for content, and a discovery proxy configured to perform a
content discovery process to update the steering criteria. Other
embodiments of a traffic controller for dynamic traffic steering
are also described.
[0005] Other aspects and advantages of embodiments of the present
invention will become apparent from the following detailed
description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings,
illustrated by way of example of the principles of the
invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] FIG. 1 depicts a schematic block diagram of one embodiment
of a content delivery system.
[0007] FIG. 2 depicts an embodiment of the traffic controller of
FIG. 1.
[0008] FIG. 3 depicts the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI)
model.
[0009] FIG. 4 depicts an exemplary IP packet.
[0010] FIG. 5 depicts an exemplary Hypertext Transfer Protocol
(HTTP) GET request message.
[0011] FIG. 6 depicts an exemplary HTTP response message.
[0012] FIGS. 7-11 illustrate examples of operations of the traffic
controller depicted in FIG. 2.
[0013] FIG. 12 depicts another embodiment of the traffic controller
of FIG. 1.
[0014] FIG. 13 depicts a computer that includes a processor,
memory, and a communications interface.
[0015] FIG. 14 is a process flow diagram of a method for dynamic
traffic steering in accordance with an embodiment of the
invention.
[0016] Throughout the description, similar reference numbers may be
used to identify similar elements.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0017] It will be readily understood that the components of the
embodiments as generally described herein and illustrated in the
appended figures could be arranged and designed in a wide variety
of different configurations. Thus, the following more detailed
description of various embodiments, as represented in the figures,
is not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure, but
is merely representative of various embodiments. While the various
aspects of the embodiments are presented in drawings, the drawings
are not necessarily drawn to scale unless specifically
indicated.
[0018] The described embodiments are to be considered in all
respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the
invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather
than by this detailed description. All changes which come within
the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be
embraced within their scope.
[0019] Reference throughout this specification to features,
advantages, or similar language does not imply that all of the
features and advantages that may be realized with the present
invention should be or are in any single embodiment. Rather,
language referring to the features and advantages is understood to
mean that a specific feature, advantage, or characteristic
described in connection with an embodiment is included in at least
one embodiment. Thus, discussions of the features and advantages,
and similar language, throughout this specification may, but do not
necessarily, refer to the same embodiment.
[0020] Furthermore, the described features, advantages, and
characteristics of the invention may be combined in any suitable
manner in one or more embodiments. One skilled in the relevant art
will recognize, in light of the description herein, that the
invention can be practiced without one or more of the specific
features or advantages of a particular embodiment. In other
instances, additional features and advantages may be recognized in
certain embodiments that may not be present in all embodiments of
the invention.
[0021] Reference throughout this specification to "one embodiment,"
"an embodiment," or similar language means that a particular
feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with
the indicated embodiment is included in at least one embodiment.
Thus, the phrases "in one embodiment," "in an embodiment," and
similar language throughout this specification may, but do not
necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment.
[0022] FIG. 1 depicts a schematic block diagram of one embodiment
of a content delivery system 100. The content delivery system 100
depicted in FIG. 1 includes a mobile device 102, a radio access
network 104, a data gateway 106, a traffic controller 108, an
Internet gateway 110, the Internet 112, a video content server 114,
and a non-video content server 116. Although the content delivery
system is depicted and described with certain components and
functionality, other embodiments of the content delivery system may
include fewer or more components to implement less or more
functionality. For example, the content delivery system may include
more than one mobile device, more than one radio access network,
more than one data gateway, more than one Internet gateway, more
than one video content server, and/or more than one non-video
content server.
[0023] The mobile device 102 of the content delivery system 100 is
typically a handheld wireless device, such as a cell phone, a
mobile phone, a smartphone, a pad computer, a Personal Digital
Assistant (PDA), a handheld gaming device etc, which can wirelessly
communicate using radio frequency (RF) communications signals. The
mobile device can support various different RF communications
protocols, including without limitation, Global System for Mobile
communications (GSM), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System
(UMTS), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Worldwide
Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax) and communications
protocols as defined by the 3.sup.rd Generation Partnership Project
(3GPP) or the 3.sup.rd Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2), 4G
Long Term Evolution (LTE) and IEEE 802.16 standards bodies.
Although some wireless communications protocols are identified
herein, it should be understood that present disclosure is not
limited to the cited wireless communications protocols. The mobile
device is configured to request content from the video content
server 114 and/or the non-video content server 116 on behalf of a
user and to render received content for displaying to the user. The
user may be a single person, multiple persons, other entity or
entities.
[0024] The radio access network 104 of the content delivery system
100 is configured to facilitate radio communications between the
mobile device 102 and a core network that includes the data gateway
106, the traffic controller 108, the Internet gateway 110, the
Internet 112, the video content server 114, and the non-video
content server 116. In an embodiment, the radio access network
includes one or more base stations to facilitate communications
among mobile devices that are within a communication range of the
base stations. Each base station has at least one RF transceiver
and the base stations communicate with the mobile devices using RF
communication signals. The radio access network facilitates network
communications among multiple mobile stations within the same radio
access network and between mobile stations in other radio access
networks and provides interfaces to facilitate communications with
other entities, such as a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN),
a Wide Area Network (WAN), the Internet, Internet servers, hosts,
etc., which are outside of the radio access network. In an
embodiment, the network elements depicted in FIG. 1 are part of a
wireless network that is operated by a single wireless service
provider.
[0025] Data signals communicated between the mobile device 102 and
the radio access network 104 include, but are not limited to,
analog and/or digital RF signals (i.e., radio waves) for any type
of communication mode, including text messaging, multimedia
messaging, voice calling, and Internet browsing. The radio access
network can support various different RF communications protocols,
including without limitation, GSM, UMTS, CDMA, WiMax and
communications protocols as defined by 3GPP, 3GPP2, or IEEE 802.16.
Although some wireless communications protocols are identified
herein, it should be understood that present disclosure is not
limited to the cited wireless communications protocols.
[0026] Although the content delivery system 100 depicted in FIG. 1
includes the mobile device 102 and the radio access network 104, in
other embodiments, the content delivery system includes a wired
device instead of the mobile device and a wired communications
network instead of the radio access network. The wired device may
be a wired communications device that is configured to request
content from the video content server 114 and/or the non-video
content server 116 on behalf of a user and to render received
content for displaying to the user. The wired communications
network can facilitate communications between the wired
communications device and the core network that includes the data
gateway 106, the traffic controller 108, the Internet gateway 110,
the Internet 112, the video content server 114, and the non-video
content server 116. The wired device may be, for example, a
computer equipped with an Ethernet card and the wired
communications network may be an Ethernet local area network (LAN).
In some embodiments, the content delivery system includes a
combination of at least one mobile device, at least one radio
access network, at least one wired device, and at least one wired
communications network.
[0027] The data gateway 106 of the content delivery system 100
configures outgoing data access requests for use with one or more
networks and configures incoming data for use by or display on the
mobile device 102. As shown, the data gateway interfaces directly
with the radio access network 104 and the traffic controller 108,
although other embodiments may include other intermediate
functional elements. In one embodiment, the data gateway uses GPRS
Tunneling Protocol (GTP) to communicate with the radio access
network. Other embodiments may use other communications protocols.
Other conventional operations of the data gateway are known. For
example, the data gateway enables users of mobile devices to roam
between cells, for example, to move between different locations
within the radio access network, by tracking the mobile device's
identity across the network. The data gateway may also provide
authentication and data formatting functions.
[0028] The traffic controller 108 of the content delivery system
100 is configured to monitor requests for content that are sent
from the mobile device 102 to the video content server 114 and/or
the non-video content server 116, to determine the content types of
the requests, and to optimize the delivery of the requested
content. The traffic controller acts as a proxy server between the
mobile device and the video content server and/or the non-video
content server and dynamically steers the traffic between the
mobile device and the video content server and/or the non-video
content server. FIG. 2 and FIG. 12 depict two embodiments of the
traffic controller of FIG. 1.
[0029] In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 2, a traffic controller
208 includes a steering component 210, an optimization platform 212
that includes a first media optimizer proxy 214, a second media
optimizer proxy 216, and a third media optimizer proxy 218, and a
discovery proxy 220. Although the traffic controller is depicted
and described with certain components and functionality, other
embodiments of the traffic controller may include fewer or more
components to implement less or more functionality. For example,
the traffic controller may include more than one discovery proxy
and the optimization platform may include less than three media
optimizer proxies or more than three media optimizer proxies. In an
embodiment, components of the traffic controller 208 are
distributed among different devices in a network. For example, the
steering component, the optimization platform, and the discovery
proxy can be located in separate network devices and/or separate
networks. In another example, the first, second and third media
optimizer proxies are located in separate network devices and/or
separate networks. As yet another example, instead of the media
optimizer proxies, the optimization platform may include at least
one packet modifying entity. The package modifying entity can
modify one or more packets carrying a request for content and/or
one or more packets carrying a response to the request that is sent
from the video content server 114 and/or the non-video content
server 116. For example, the package modifying entity may insert
data into a packet, translate data in a packet, and/or delete data
in a packet. The packet modifying entity can be located anywhere in
the data path between the mobile device 102 and the video content
server and/or in the data path between the mobile device and the
non-video content server.
[0030] The steering component 210 of the traffic controller 208 is
configured to maintain steering criteria for steering requests for
content. The steering component may maintain steering criteria
solely based on information from one layer of the Open Systems
Interconnection (OSI) model, which is shown in FIG. 3, or based on
information from more than one layer of the OSI model. As depicted
in FIG. 3, the OSI model includes seven layers, which are Layer 1
(Physical Layer), Layer 2 (Data Link Layer), Layer 3 (Network
Layer), Layer 4 (Transport Layer), Layer 5 (Session Layer), Layer 6
(Presentation Layer), and Layer 7 (Application Layer). In an
embodiment, the steering component maintains steering criteria
based on information found in at least one of Layer 3 (Network
Layer,) Layer 4 (Transport Layer,) Layer 5 (Session Layer,) Layer 6
(Presentation Layer,) and Layer 7 (Application Layer) of the OSI
model. For example, the steering component may maintain steering
criteria that is solely or partially based on information from the
Network Layer. In an embodiment, the steering component keeps a
list of IP addresses that correspond to known video sites, such as
YouTube.com, Google Videos, Metacafe.com, and Hulu.com, as the
steering criteria. The steering component may store additional
information such as IP address lifetime, destination port, source
port, time-of-day, and day-of-week. The lifetime of an IP address
is a time out period or an expiration date that the IP address will
drop out of the steering criteria so that the IP address gets an
opportunity for a re-evaluation by the discovery proxy 220 at least
once every lifetime. The time-of-day is the time in a day that the
steering component receives a request for content. The day-of-week
is the day in a week that the steering component receives a request
for content. Internet traffic may have a predictable traffic
pattern with respect to the time-of-day and/or the day-of-week. The
steering component can take advantage of the knowledge of the
traffic pattern to make traffic steering decisions based on the
time-of-day and/or day-of-week. For example, the evening may be a
peak viewing time in which traffic loads are heavier. Thus, the
steering component can steer a relatively large percentage of
requests for delivery optimization in the evening. In another
example, based on the day-of-week, the steering component can steer
requests differently for week days and weekends. In an embodiment,
the steering criteria may include a combination of IP addresses and
port numbers that correspond to known video sites. In yet another
embodiment, the steering criteria may include other IP header
and/or network layer information that corresponds to known video
sites. For example, the steering criteria may include an HTTP
header, which identifies a potential video domain. The steering
component can be installed at a customer premise, such as a data
center of a wireless carrier. The steering criteria of different
customer deployments of the steering component may be aggregated
into a cloud service. In this case, the cloud service can provide
initial steering criteria to a new customer deployment.
[0031] In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 2, the steering component
210 is connected to the Internet gateway 110 through the
optimization platform 212, the discovery proxy, and through a
bypass route. The steering component steers a request for content
based on steering criteria contained in a whitelist 222, a
blacklist 224, and an optional third category "other" 226. If a
request for content matches information contained in the whitelist,
the steering component directs the request to the optimization
platform 212 for content delivery optimization. If a request for
content matches information contained in the blacklist, the
steering component does not direct the request to the optimization
platform. Instead, the steering component directs the request to a
bypass route, which does not include the optimization platform. If
a request for content neither matches information contained in the
whitelist nor matches information contained in the blacklist, the
steering component directs the request to the discovery proxy 220.
The discovery proxy implements a content discovery process in which
a discovery proxy determines whether or not the returned content
includes content of interest and adds information related to the
request to either the whitelist or the blacklist. For example, if
the returned content includes video, the discovery proxy adds the
information of the request to the whitelist. If the returned
content does not include video, the discovery proxy adds the
information of the request to the blacklist.
[0032] In an embodiment, the whitelist 222, the blacklist 224 and
the third category "other" 226 contain destination address
information, e.g., destination IP addresses. If a request for
content is destined to a destination that is on the whitelist, the
steering component 210 directs the request to the optimization
platform 212 for content delivery optimization. For example, the
steer component may perform an IP address lookup by checking the
destination IP address of the request against the whitelist. If a
request for content is destined to a destination that is on the
blacklist, the steering component does not direct the request to
the optimization platform. Instead, the steering component directs
the request to a bypass route. If a request for content is destined
to a destination that is neither on the whitelist nor on the
blacklist, the steering component directs the request to the
discovery proxy 220. The discovery proxy implements the content
discovery process in which the discovery proxy determines whether
or not the returned content includes content of interest and adds
information related to the request to either the whitelist or the
blacklist. For example, at the start of a deployment of the traffic
controller 208, the whitelist stored in the steering component
contains a list of IP addresses of popular known video sites. In
addition to the list of IP addresses of popular known video sites,
the whitelist may include additional information such as IP address
lifetime, destination port, source port, time-of-day. The steering
component can check destination IP addresses of requests that are
sent from the mobile device 102. If a request from the mobile
device is destined to an IP address that is on the whitelist, the
steering component directs the request to the optimization platform
for video content delivery optimization. If a request from the
mobile device is destined to an IP address that is not on the
whitelist, the request is subjected to the content discovery
process by steering the request to the discovery proxy. The
discovery proxy implements the content discovery process in which
the discovery proxy determines whether or not the returned content
includes video content. If the discovery proxy determines that the
returned content includes video content, the discovery proxy
identifies the source of the video content. The discovery proxy
then notifies the steering component with details about the video
content source (e.g., the IP address), so that the steering
criteria maintained in the steering component can be updated to
include information about the newly discovered video content
source. For example, the whitelist is updated to include the IP
address of the newly discovered video content source. As a result,
the next time there is a request for the newly discovered source,
the request can be steered accordingly. In an embodiment, the
whitelist is empty at the start of a deployment of the traffic
controller. The empty whitelist is then populated by IP addresses
that are learned by the discovery proxy. If the requested content
does not include video content, the steering criteria maintained in
the steering component can be updated to include the destination
information of the request. For example, the destination IP address
in the request is stored in a blacklist. In an embodiment, any
future request for content that is destined to an IP address that
is on the blacklist is sent to the Internet gateway 110 through the
bypass route and is not directed to the optimization platform. The
third category "other" may not be in the form of a list. Rather,
the third category "other" can include all of the IP addresses that
are neither on the whitelist nor on the blacklist. From the
population of request addresses in the third category "other," new
entries are discovered for addition to either the whitelist or the
blacklist.
[0033] In an embodiment, the request for content that the steering
component 210 receives is a single IP packet or multiple IP
packets. FIG. 4 shows an exemplary request IP packet 400. As
depicted in FIG. 4, the IP packet includes an HTTP segment 402, a
Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) segment 404, and an IP segment
406. The HTTP segment includes an HTTP request message, such as an
HTTP GET request message. FIG. 5 shows an exemplary HTTP GET
request message 500. As depicted in FIG. 5, the HTTP GET request
message includes a start line, which is also referred to as the
request line, and request headers. The request headers contain a
host such as www.youtube.com and acceptable response formats. The
request line contains the "GET" operation, a request URL such as
"index.html" that describes the resource of the host on which to
perform the "GET" operation, and an HTTP version such as HTTP 1.1.
In the exemplary HTTP GET request message, all response formats are
acceptable. The TCP segment is also referred to as the TCP header.
The TCP segment may include TCP information, such as source port,
destination port, and TCP sequence number. The IP segment is also
referred to as the IP header. The IP segment may include IP
information such as source IP address, destination IP address, and
time to live (TTL). Compared with a conventional traffic control
approach that scans the URL or domain name in an HTTP GET request
message, scanning the IP header for the destination IP address can
be performed using only the network layer information. Therefore,
the operation of getting into the HTTP GET request message to
obtain the URL is no longer needed. As a result, dynamic traffic
control can be performed in a manner that is very resource
efficient.
[0034] The optimization platform 212 adds value to the content
delivery system 100 with intelligent, device-aware and policy-aware
delivery of video content and other content of interest, and
reduces costs while increasing effective bandwidth. The
optimization platform enables service providers to define
subscriber level, time-of-day-based, or volume-based policies that
influence the optimization decision. For example, with the
optimization platform 212, service providers can identify video
content in a response and optimize video content on demand, to
reduce network cost while increasing utilization of existing
network assets. The optimization platform can deliver the right
amount of video data for smooth playback, but not too much at once,
eliminate wasted bandwidth in case the user moves on to newer
content before finishing watching the current video, increase
network efficiency with a caching system, perform offline
transcoding, and adjust the optimized media bit-rate delivered to
the subscriber based on available network bandwidth. In the
embodiment depicted in FIG. 2, the discovery proxy 220 and/or the
optimization platform dynamically update(s) the whitelist and the
blacklist of the steering component 210.
[0035] Each of the media optimizer proxies 214, 216, and 218 of the
optimization platform 212 is configured to optimize video content
for delivery to the mobile device 102 and/or to the radio access
radio access network 104 according to criteria such as
characteristics of the mobile device, the radio access network,
and/or the video content. In an embodiment, each media optimizer
proxy includes a transcoding module that is configured to encode
video content that is being delivered into encoded video content,
whose data size is smaller than the data size of the video content
that is being delivered. The transcoding module may encode the
video content based on the physical dimensions and resolution of
the mobile device display, perceived bandwidth of the
communications channel between the content and the mobile device,
and supported codecs and delivery protocols of the mobile device.
The transcoding module may also be configured to encode the content
that is being delivered into encoded content that is more secure.
By encoding the content that is being delivered into a smaller or
more secure encoded form, the content delivery is optimized.
[0036] The response from the video server 114 and/or the non-video
server 116, which may be a HTTP response, can be transmitted in a
single IP packet or multiple IP packets. Each response IP packet
may have a similar format to the exemplary request IP packet shown
in FIG. 4. For example, the response IP packets may include an HTTP
segment, a TCP segment, and an IP segment. The HTTP segment may
include an HTTP response message. FIG. 6 shows an exemplary HTTP
response message 600. As depicted in FIG. 6, the HTTP response
message includes a start line, which is also referred to as the
response line, response headers, and a response body. The response
line contains an HTTP version such as HTTP 1.1, and a status code
with reason phrase such as "200 OK." The response headers contain
response content information such as content-type and
content-length. The content-type identifies the Internet media
(MIME) type of the response body, which may be video, audio, image,
or other content type. For example, the content-type may be
"text/html," which represents the response body is an HTML
document. The content-type may be "text/plain," which represents
the response body is a document in plain text. The content-type may
be "image/gif," which represents that the response body is an image
of type GIF. The content-type may be "audio/x-wav," which
represents that the response body contains WAV sound data. As shown
in FIG. 6, the content-type is "video/mpeg," which represents video
in "Moving Picture Experts Group" (MPEG) format. The content-length
identifies the length of the response body in bytes. In the HTTP
response message of FIG. 6, the content-length is 6291456
bytes.
[0037] FIGS. 7-11 illustrate examples of operations of the traffic
controller 208 depicted in FIG. 2. In the example illustrated in
FIG. 7, the steering component 210 receives a request for content
from an interested party, such as the mobile device 102. The
steering component checks the IP header of the request message for
the destination IP of the request. If the request is destined to a
video source whose IP address is on the whitelist 222, e.g., the
destination IP address of the request matches one of the addresses
on the whitelist, the steering component sends the request for
content through the optimization platform 212 to the Internet
gateway 110. The steering component may check other information in
the request message with the information in the whitelist, such as
IP address lifetime, destination port, source port, time-of-day.
The Internet gateway 110 transmits the requests to the video
content server 114 (shown in FIG. 1) through the Internet 112
(shown in FIG. 1).
[0038] In the operation example illustrated in FIG. 8, the video
content server 114 (shown in FIG. 1) sends a response that contains
the requested video content through the Internet 112 (shown in FIG.
1) to the Internet gateway 110. The Internet gateway transmits the
video content to the media optimizer proxies 214, 216, 218 of the
optimization platform 212. The optimization platform sends the
optimized video content to the mobile device 102. In an embodiment,
at least one of the media optimizer proxies sends feedback
information with respect to the whitelist 222 to the steering
component and the steering component dynamically adjusts the
whitelist. For example, the media optimizer proxies may feed
performance indicators and other characteristics indicators to the
steer component, which in turn adjusts the whitelist to adapt to
system load or efficacy. In another embodiment, at least one of the
media optimizer proxies reduces the scope of the whitelist, for
example, reduces the number of the video sources on the whitelist.
This may happen when one of the media optimizer proxies receives
more video traffic than it can handle. In this case, although the
volume of optimized video traffic may be reduced because some video
sources have been removed from the whitelist, the optimization
platform functions dynamically regardless of the video traffic mix.
The media optimizer proxies may feed performance indicators and
other characteristics indicators to a feedback agent (not shown),
which in turn adjusts the whitelist and/or the blacklist to adapt
to system load or efficacy. The feedback agent may be an
independent component or may be embedded in the media optimizer
proxies.
[0039] In the example illustrated in FIG. 9, the steering component
210 receives a request for content that is destined to an IP
address that is not on the whitelist 222 (when there is no
blacklist 224) or is destined to an IP address that is neither on
the whitelist nor on an existing blacklist. In an embodiment, the
request for content is destined to an IP address that is of the
third category "other" 226. The steering component then checks the
destination IP address of the request with addresses on the
whitelist and the blacklist (if it exists), and sends the request
to the discovery proxy 220. The discovery proxy transmits the
request to the video content server 114 (shown in FIG. 1) or the
non-video content server 116 (shown in FIG. 1) through the Internet
gateway 110 and the Internet 112 (shown in FIG. 1) according to the
destination IP address of the request.
[0040] In the example illustrated in FIG. 10, the video content
server 114 (shown in FIG. 1) or the non-video content server 116
(shown in FIG. 1) sends the requested content through the Internet
112 (shown in FIG. 1) to the Internet gateway 110. The Internet
gateway transmits the requested content to the discovery proxy 220
in a response. The discovery proxy scans the response to determine
whether or not the response contains video content. In an
embodiment, the discovery proxy looks into the HTTP header of the
response. For example, the discovery proxy looks at the
content-type value in the HTTP header to determine whether or not
the response contains video content. In another embodiment, the
discovery proxy looks into the bytes of the response, such as the
content-length value in the HTTP header, to determine whether or
not the response contains video content. If the response is
determined to include video content, then the discovery proxy
updates the whitelist 222 to include the IP address of the
destination IP address of the request (the IP address of the video
content source). If the response does not include video content,
then the discovery proxy creates a blacklist 224 or updates an
existing blacklist to include the IP address of the destination IP
address of the request. The response is also delivered to the
mobile device 102.
[0041] In the example illustrated in FIG. 11, the steering
component 210 receives a request for content that is destined to an
IP address that is on the blacklist 224, e.g., matches the
destination IP address of the request with one of the addresses on
the blacklist. The steering component sends the request to the
Internet gateway 110 through the bypass route. The non-video
content server 116 (shown in FIG. 1) sends the requested content in
a response to the Internet gateway 110 through the Internet 112
(shown in FIG. 1). The Internet gateway 110 transmits the response
to the steering component 210 through the bypass route for delivery
to the mobile device 102. In this example, the request and the
response are not optimized. As a result, only video content is
optimized by the optimization platform 212.
[0042] Although the discovery proxy 220 is external to the steering
component 210 in the embodiment depicted in FIG. 2, the discovery
proxy may be integrated into the steering component in some
embodiments. FIG. 12 depicts such an embodiment in which a traffic
controller 1208 includes a steering component 1210 with an internal
discovery proxy 220. Components of the traffic controller 1208 may
not be included in the same device and/or in the same network. For
example, the steering component and the optimization platform are
included in separate network devices and/or separate networks. In
another example, the first, second and third media optimizer
proxies are included in separate network devices and/or separate
networks.
[0043] In a static traffic steering approach, pre-configured rules
are used to steer requests for delivery optimization. For example,
URLs in the HTTP GET request can be used to steer requests through
an optimization platform. With the fast changing Internet video
content delivery landscape where hot websites and videos appear and
disappear relatively quickly, pre-configured rules can become
out-of-date in a short duration of time. Compared with the static
traffic steering approach, the traffic controller 108 of FIG. 1,
the traffic controller 208 of FIG. 2, and the traffic controller
1208 of FIG. 12 dynamically steer traffic by continuously updating
the steering criteria in response to IP-based learning from actual
traffic seen by the traffic controller.
[0044] In addition, compared with a traffic steering approach in
which only the whitelist 222 is implemented and updated, the
traffic controller 108 of FIG. 1, the traffic controller 208 of
FIG. 2, and the traffic controller 1208 of FIG. 12 dynamically
steer traffic by continuously updating both the whitelist and the
blacklist 224. Implementing and updating only the whitelist leaves
a significant portion of traffic unchecked, which leads to only a
fraction of the video content being optimized, causing the value of
the optimization platform 212 to be significantly diminished.
However, with the traffic controller 108 of FIG. 1, the traffic
controller 208 of FIG. 2, and the traffic controller 1208 of FIG.
12, more of the video content can be optimized, thereby increasing
the value of the optimization platform 212 and improving the
efficiency of network operators.
[0045] Although the traffic controllers 108, 208, 1208 are
described above with respect to video content, the traffic
controllers can also be used for the delivery optimization of other
type or types of content. For example, the discovery proxy 220 can
be used to detect content such as text, webpage, image, or any
combination of video and non-video content by, for example, looking
at the HTTP header in the HTTP response. The steering component
210, 1210 may maintain a whitelist, a blacklist and/or a third
category "other" that steering criteria related to any combination
of video and non-video content. The optimization platform 212 may
optimize the delivery of any combination of video and non-video
content.
[0046] Referring back to FIG. 1, the Internet gateway 108 of the
content delivery system 100 provides a gateway for communications
between the mobile device 102 and Internet-connected hosts and/or
servers in the Internet 112, which can also be referred to as the
"cloud." The Internet gateway may include a Serving General Packet
Radio Service (GPRS) Support Node (SGSN) and a Gateway GPRS Support
Node (GGSN). For example, the Internet gateway can be a Wireless
Application Protocol (WAP) gateway that converts the WAP protocol
used by the radio access network to the HTTP protocol used by the
Internet 112. In an embodiment, the Internet gateway enables mobile
stations to access multimedia content, such as Hyper Text Markup
Language (HTML), compact HTML (cHTML), and extensible HTML (xHTML),
which is stored on Internet-connected hosts and/or servers. In the
embodiment depicted in FIG. 1, the radio access network 104, the
data gateway 106, the traffic controller 108, and the Internet
gateway are located in an access network 111, which provides access
to the Internet. The access network may be administered by a single
entity or different entities. For example, the access network may
be managed by a single Internet service provider (ISP).
[0047] The video content server 114 of the content delivery system
100 is configured to store video content, to process requests for
video content from the mobile device 102, and to provide requested
video content to the mobile device over at least one delivery
protocol. The video content server may serve video content over a
single video transport protocol or more than one video transport
protocol. In an embodiment, the video content server serves video
content over HTTP such as HTTP-Progressive Download (HTTP-PD) or
HTTP-Adaptive Streaming (HTTP-AS), Real Time Messaging Protocol
(RTMP), and/or real time streaming protocol (RTSP) or other similar
protocols such as Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP) and Real Data
Transport (RDT) from a content encoder or from pre-encoded content
stored in a video content database (not shown). The video server
may belong to a video web site, such as YouTube.com, Google Videos,
Metacafe.com, and Hulu.com.
[0048] The non-video content server 116 of the content delivery
system 100 is configured to store non-video content, to process
requests for non-video content from the mobile device 102, to
provide requested non-video content to the mobile device. The
non-video content can be text, webpage, image, or any combination
thereof. The non-video server may include a database (not shown)
for storing non-video content. In an embodiment, the non-video
content server is an HTTP server.
[0049] The video content server 114 may be physically connected to
the non-video content server 116. For example, the video content
server may be directly connected to the non-video content server or
indirectly connected to the non-video content server through an
intermediate network. The video content server may be the same as
the non-video content server. For example, the video content server
and the non-video content server may be located in the same
physical server. In an embodiment, video content server and
non-video content are distinguished by Layer 3 and Layer 4
information, e.g., IP address and port number. For example, video
content is located at IP address A, port B while non-video content
is located at IP address A, port C, where A represents an IP
address and B and C represent different ports numbers. In another
example, video content is located at IP address A, port B while
non-video content is located at IP address D, port C, where A and D
represent different IP addresses.
[0050] Although the operations herein are shown and described in a
particular order, the order of the operations may be altered so
that certain operations may be performed in an inverse order or so
that certain operations may be performed, at least in part,
concurrently with other operations. In another embodiment,
instructions or sub-operations of distinct operations may be
implemented in an intermittent and/or alternating manner.
[0051] It should also be noted that at least some of the operations
may be implemented using software instructions stored on a computer
useable storage medium for execution by a computer. As an example,
an embodiment of a computer program product includes a computer
useable storage medium to store a computer readable program that,
when executed on a computer, causes the computer to perform
operations, as described herein.
[0052] Furthermore, embodiments of at least portions of the
invention can take the form of a computer program product
accessible from a computer-usable or computer-readable medium
providing program code for use by or in connection with a computer
or any instruction execution system. For the purposes of this
description, a computer-usable or computer readable medium can be
any apparatus that can contain, store, communicate, propagate, or
transport the program for use by or in connection with the
instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.
[0053] The computer-useable or computer-readable medium can be an
electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or
semiconductor system (or apparatus or device), or a propagation
medium. Examples of a computer-readable medium include a
semiconductor or solid state memory, magnetic tape, a removable
computer diskette, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory
(ROM), a rigid magnetic disk, and an optical disk. Current examples
of optical disks include a compact disk with read only memory
(CD-ROM), a compact disk with read/write (CD-R/W), and a digital
video disk (DVD).
[0054] In an embodiment, at least one of the functionalities of the
traffic controller 108 of FIG. 1, the traffic controller 208 of
FIG. 2, and the traffic controller 1208 of FIG. 12 is performed by
a computer that executes computer readable instructions. FIG. 13
depicts a computer 1300 that includes a processor 1302, memory
1304, and a communications interface 1306. The processor may
include a multifunction processor and/or an application-specific
processor. Examples of processors include the PowerPC.TM. family of
processors by IBM and the x86 family of processors by Intel. The
memory within the computer may include, for example, storage medium
such as read only memory (ROM), flash memory, RAM, and a large
capacity permanent storage device such as a hard disk drive. The
communications interface enables communications with other
computers via, for example, the Internet Protocol (IP). The
computer executes computer readable instructions stored in the
storage medium to implement various tasks as described above.
[0055] FIG. 14 is a process flow diagram of a method for dynamic
traffic steering in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
At block 1402, a request for content is received at a steering
component. At block 1404, information in the request is compared
with steering criteria in the steering component. At block 1406,
the request is steered based on the comparing. At block 1408, the
steering criteria are continuously updated based on requests that
are subsequently received at the steering component.
[0056] In the above description, specific details of various
embodiments are provided. However, some embodiments may be
practiced with less than all of these specific details. In other
instances, certain methods, procedures, components, structures,
and/or functions are described in no more detail than to enable the
various embodiments of the invention, for the sake of brevity and
clarity.
[0057] Although specific embodiments of the invention have been
described and illustrated, the invention is not to be limited to
the specific forms or arrangements of parts so described and
illustrated. The scope of the invention is to be defined by the
claims appended hereto and their equivalents.
* * * * *
References